Eutechnyx to explore region free NASCAR

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 22 February, 2011

So UK gamers can play it.

Publishing behemoth Activision won't release NASCAR 2011 in the UK, but developer Eutechnyx has offered fans a glimmer of hope that they may one day play the game.

How so? By making NASCAR 2011 region free.

"Ultimately, as the distributor, Activision make the call on which territory the game will be released in," Eutechnyx's NASCAR product manager Gregg Baker told Eurogamer.

"However, as a developer we can try and ensure that those wishing to purchase the game outside of the US are still given the opportunity.

"We will look into making sure there is no region locking on the game so fans can import the game and if the demand is high enough we may even look into the possibility of distributing the game ourselves in the UK."

PlayStation 3 games are not region locked, but Xbox 360 and Wii games often are.

Still, there is a long list of region free PAL Xbox 360 games, including some published by Activision (Call of Duty: Black Ops among them), so a multiplatform region free release is not without precedent.

You'd also have thought Activision would have something to say about any plan Eutechnyx had to distribute the game in the UK. Not so: Activision is a distribution partner only for NASCAR 2011. Eutechnyx owns the NASCAR licence.

Earlier today it emerged that Activision had cancelled NASCAR 2011's projected UK March release.

However, Eurogamer understands the game was never announced for release on these shores – despite the assumption by gamers and press that it would be.

Eurogamer has requested comment from Activision on the matter.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (28) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • sonicyoda #1 1 year ago

    "Eurogamer has requested comment from Activision on the matter."

    Good luck with that.

  • McBradders #2 1 year ago

    Aren't Activision games generally region free on 360 (PS3 doesn't count in this case thanks to their forward thinking on the matter)?

    Seems like a redundant effort on the dev's part if that's true XD

  • Kostabi #3 1 year ago

    I'm just annoyed there's no PC version.

  • dr_zoidthrob #4 1 year ago

    Not a game you'd want a sat nav in... "turn left... turn left... turn left..."

  • DAN.E.B #5 1 year ago

    are we getting it in the uk or not?
    its like we are driving round in circles here!

  • Whizzo #6 1 year ago

    Now it's likely that I can't have this I really want to give it a try.

  • DreadedWalrus #7 1 year ago

    Even if I have no intention of playing a NASCAR game in my life, this is still a good sign for those who want to play it. I'm left still playing NFL 2K5 since All Pro Football 2K8 was never released over here, and the 360 version is region-locked.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #8 1 year ago

    Maybe, just maybe, Eutechnyx are poor and stupid enough to make it work.

    Edit: god damn you, HTML anchor tag syntax!
    Edited by MENTAL1ST at 22/02/11 @ 15:12

  • Quint2020 #9 1 year ago

    I'm sorry but what kind of self respecting British petrol head gives a flying fuck about bloody NASCAR?

  • Tyronne #10 1 year ago


    I remember playing and olde speccy adventure game about nascar.

    You are sitting behind the steering wheel of a fast sports car on a nascar track,you are presently driving very fast.
    visible exits are:
    left
    >go left
    you go left
    >go left
    your still going left
    >go left
    you continue to go left
    >quit
    do you wish to play again Yes or No ?
    >n
    you have crashed.

  • Byzanite #11 1 year ago

    Conjures images of Top Gear's trip across the US, writing "NASCAR is shit" across their cars and almost being shot at.

  • marmaduke #12 1 year ago

    Hey, what about the ~15% of tracks that actually feature right-hand turns?

    [link url=http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/
    ]http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/
    [/link]

    THE VARIETY WILL KEEP YOU SATISFIED FOR YEARS

  • Whizzo #13 1 year ago

    Considering how much fun Indianapolis 500 was to play all those years ago the fact that most tracks only turn one way doesn't really bother me too much.

    Although a lot of the fun was derived from the replay mode and driving the wrong way I have to admit.

  • Mister-Wario #14 1 year ago

    How many UK citizens follow NASCAR, incidentally? I always thought it was an American thing.

  • Murton #15 1 year ago

    "How many UK citizens follow NASCAR, incidentally? I always thought it was an American thing."

    It gets pretty respectable figures on Eurosport/ESPN when it's on, much higher than basketball, baseball or even NFL, I've watched it from time to time, but like F1 I haven't got the patience/not interested enough to watch a full race, I'll watch full highlights if I catch them though.

    Statistically NASCAR is the most popular motorsport in the world, and it can't all be the Southern parts of the US when you consider the global following of Formula 1.

    The real question is whether or not there are enough fans of it in the UK to warrant the game's release here? Will it break even against competition from other racers? I'd wager that most people in the UK that do like NASCAR are probably casual fans at best and are quite happy with the NASCAR style tracks that are available in other games, GT5 has enough NASCAR tracks and vehicles in it to keep me perfectly satisfied for the time being. But then I'm not a huge racing fan so the fact that GT5 gives me a little of everything (track, street, rally and NASCAR racing) means I don't really need any other racer this gen, other people will feel differently obviously.

    Still, great news for anyone who did want to play it. Always a shame to see gamers denied games/content that they want due on the whim of a publisher.

  • metalangel #16 1 year ago

    I thought it was all but confirmed it would be! Good thing I haven't ordered it yet. Confirmation would be great but there's almost a month to go, I suppose.

  • Machetazo #17 1 year ago

    If you think the sport is bad, wth are you commenting about a periphery decision in the greater scheme of things, that would only concern someone else being able to play a game based on it, and affect you in no way?
    At least, it seems the developer wants people to play it. There's a gulf of difference between the game not being playable/available, and at least having the opportunity to check it out - just consider Deadly Premonition.

    Although, I stick with the solution that the better thing to do in the case that there's interest but uncertainty of it in the retail environment, is distribute via download on XBLA/PSN. Arguably, there's greater visibility to gain, and you don't have packaging costs/shelf space and other distribution levies to account for. I am surprised that more fringe publishers, and game offerings do not make more readily use of this route to at least, have the game available and broaden the level of choice a player has.
    Edited by Machetazo at 22/02/11 @ 17:47

  • Collymilad #18 1 year ago

    @marmaduke

    Seriously, look at those f*cking tracks.

    Who wouldn't look at that and think "hmmm, maybe we should do something about that, might end up being quite boring"

    Only Americans. Really.

  • metalangel #19 1 year ago

    Duhhh they like something I don't, therefore they and it suck. That they're American just makes it worse!

  • Monkey_Puncher #20 1 year ago

    People in the UK actually give a shit about Nascar? :/

    Learn something new every day....

  • cak #21 1 year ago

    Just for the record, I've played all Papyrus' Nascar games, and I've found them all but boring.
    Honestly, I've always been bored by F1 games instead. The thrill of racing in a pack of 40 cars, corner after corner, when you know a single error might cost you *a lot* of places, while struggling to keep your car away from that wall and possibly in the right direction, is still unparalleled (well, except by its spiritual successor iRacing, anyway).
    Watching the same races on TV is not as thrilling, I will concede, but a good Nascar game would indeed be welcome (although I have a bad feeling about this...).

  • respectyourelder #22 1 year ago

    I'd be careful if i was Eutechnyx about pressuring Activision into a UK release, or we'll have another UK driving game dev going to the wall!

  • HermitArcader #23 1 year ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:39 22-12-2011

  • djed #24 1 year ago

    eurogamer.net

  • Dylbot #25 1 year ago

    "How many UK citizens follow NASCAR, incidentally? I always thought it was an American thing."

    The iRacing Nascar champ is a guy from Hull, who, incidentally, was recently hired by Eutechnyx to help make this game as turn-left-tastic as fuck.

  • FooAtari #26 1 year ago

    @Kostabi
    "I'm just annoyed there's no PC version."

    Ill go out on a limb here and say this game is going to be average at best. The best NASCAR racing sim on the PC is NASCAR Racing 2003 or iRacing.

    @Collymilad
    Ever watched it for than 5 minutes, before calling it boring? While I watch and mostly enjoy F1, some of the processions I have seen over the years at tracks like Barcelona and Bahrain are more boring than any NASCAR race I've ever watched.

    I live in Scotland and watch NASCAR on Premier Sports on Sky. I'll pretty much watch anything with wheels and an engine, but enjoy NASCAR a lot more than some other motorsports, although it's not my favorite. GP2, IndyCar or touring cars is probably best in terms on track action and excitement, As I said in the other comments about this:

    The ignorance here about NASCAR is amazing. There is a lot of skill and strategy involved and the close racing actually make for pretty exciting stuff if you bother to sit down and watch a few races.

    But well, no 4 wheel motorsport can compete with the 2 wheel variety anyway, so it's a bit of a moot point :)

  • dadrester #27 1 year ago

    The last person to win the indy 500 was a scotsman, who also happens to be mate's cousin. This mate, when he was about 14, went to the driver's wedding. He was marrying Ashley Judd! Apparently there were all manner of Hollywood celebs in attendance.

    Also. Destruction derby on PS1 was awesome and most of the tracks on that were ovals.

  • FooAtari #28 1 year ago

    That Scotsman has two Indy 500 wins and three Indycar titles to his name. It's a shame no one here really knows who Dario Franchitti is.

    One of his other cousis is Paul DiResta who is about to embark on his first season racing in Formula 1.